A Shadow's Tale (28 page)

‘You're getting married?!'

‘Bart, shut up,' Dominique muttered before adding in a louder voice. ‘Congrats Shadow!'

Ilrune bowed to the two Kraferrs, speaking up in his deep voice. ‘I apologise for the sudden attack. Shadow warned me of the threat posed by Teran, and I was not sure of your intentions.' Bart was glaring at Ilrune, but the Wingless was returning the look in none too friendly a fashion. I stamped on my fiancé's foot as inconspicuously as I could. He glanced down at me, taking in my expression. Sighing, he turned to look at the door, which lay barely hanging off its hinges from his exuberant entry. He cast an eye over the damage before holding his hand towards the wood, letting his whitish magic seep into the wood, reconnecting fibres in shattered wood and reshaping bent metal. Bart looked at me.

‘I take it that now that he's here, you'll be going back to Aspheri,' he said flatly.

I shook my head. ‘That would throw up a magical signature strong enough for Teran to trace without very much difficulty at all. Ilrune wouldn't teleport me for fear of messing up and being
followed by Teran without any back up on our side.'

Bart said nothing but glanced at Ilrune before walking out of the newly repaired door. Ilrune cast a look at me before following the Kraferr. I sincerely hoped that Ilrune wasn't about to go and cause any trouble. That was the last thing we needed at the moment. Careen were known to be highly protective of their females. I knew that Ilrune was about as pacifist as a demon could get, unwilling to shed the blood of another if there was any other way, but Bart didn't know that. Bart was more likely to let his anger get in the way of anything that even sniffed of a challenge. Dominique ignored the goings on, walking into the kitchen and making a start on the washing up as if there was nothing amiss whatsoever. I grabbed a cloth and stood silently next to Dominique, drying the dishes as she washed them. We continued in a companionable silence until Dominique suddenly gasped. The glass she had been holding fell, shattering on the floor as she doubled over in pain, tears starting to stream down her face.

‘Oh god,' she gasped. ‘Bart's turning demonic!'

I didn't ask how she knew. Dominique was a Kraferr. Sometimes they just knew things or had ways of knowing with their own kind of magic. She had probably placed wards or something around the Kraferr. Instead, I asked, ‘Where is he?'

‘On the roof, with Ilrune!' I grabbed her arm, pulling it around my shoulders in order to help her remain upright as we ran for the stairs to the roof. I reached the door, gently propping Dominique against the wall before trying to open it. It was locked, sealed with magic. I growled in frustration, slamming my shoulder against it.

‘Curse this human body!' I snarled at myself, trying once again with brute force. I hated being human. I had no strength, no magic, no way of fighting. Not unless…

‘Dominique, can you link to Bart's mind and transfer the link to me? I need his anger!' For a moment, she simply stared at me.
I must have looked a sight. Not many people ever saw me angry. It was dangerous in demonic form. Now that I was human, I could cut loose. She nodded briefly, starting to mutter under her breath, weaving the spells through the air.

Bart's anger hit me like a slap to the face. I struggled with my ingrained training, forcing myself to accept the emotion, to take it as my own. It flooded through my mind, crushing the dams built around my demonic side. There was no going back now.

Cold air. Don't like cold air. Little creature beside me. Strange smell
.
Not a target. Not a threat. Ignore it. Find target. Find three-way-hybrid. Three-way-hybrid in Desert Dimension. Teleport
.

Badlands warm. Badlands good. Magic strong. Three-way-hybrid here with Crystal hybrid. Must take down three-way-hybrid. Lunge. Bite
.
Scratch. Pain of magic. Stinging. Anger. Snarl. Flesh beneath my claws. Smell of blood. Good smell. Falling back. Crystal demon fighting me. Magic around my muzzle. Must get it off. Must get it off! Growl
.
Snarl. More magic around my paws. Can't stand. Crystal demon next to me. Warning growl. Get away. Magic still binding. Singing. Crystal demon singing. Familiar song. Soothing. Growing weaker. Can't hold on to form
.

Someone's voice softly crooned to me. A song I knew from so long ago. The Awakening of Worlds, an old Synari lullaby.

‘Run through the forest chasing the wolf's tail, Know that in the awakening of the worlds, in the end of dreams, I will forever be here to comfort you.'
I let my mind wander back to Synairn, to the last month I spent there. Of the nightmares that would wake me up at night with screams of terror. Of Arellan's arms holding me close, her fingers gently combing my hair as she sang to me, as she sang me back to sleep. For a moment, I lost myself in memory. The loss of Arellan ached deep in my heart, a pain long ago buried
returning to rip its way through my mind. I longed to stay in this world of fantasy, where she was still alive, but the singing voice wasn't hers. The singing voice was quietly begging me to wake up. My arm was screaming in agony when I finally opened my eyes on reality. Ilrune looked down at me with concern burning in his eyes. His hand gently brushed against my cheek.

‘Are you all right?' he asked quietly. I ignored that question as I started to remember what had landed me here, lying on the couch in the Kraferr's flat

‘How's Bart? I didn't hurt him, did I?'

Ilrune scowled at the mention of the Kraferr's name. ‘He has yet to awaken. The fight between you was rather violent. I do not believe you have caused him any lasting damage.'

‘I need to see him.' I attempted to stand, grabbing my cloak, but someone seemed to have replaced my legs with wet noodles. Growling in frustration, I grabbed onto a nearby table, trying to support myself. Ilrune sighed heavily, wrapping one arm around my waist and helping me to walk over to Bart's room.

Dominique sat alone in the gloomy room, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Bart's hand as he lay, unconscious. She glanced up as I pushed open the door, her eyes, wet with tears, gleaming in the light.

‘He's…he's not awake yet,' she murmured. She dragged a sleeve over her eyes, sniffing before looking back at me. ‘He will wake up, won't he?'

I looked at the floor, unable to look at the Kraferrin. I had no idea what I had even done to Bart, or what had happened during the fight. Dominique hiccupped a sob, looking back at Bart. I chewed my lip, trying to think of anything to say.

‘Dominique, I'm…'

‘Sorry? Possibly. I know you probably did what you had to do in order to break up the fight. I just wish I knew he was okay.'

‘Well, isn't this an interesting situation?' A figure detached itself from the deep shadows of the room. Golden hair glinted in
what little light there was. Teran barked out a single burst of harsh laughter. Dominique shot to her feet, her eyes flashing in anger. She pulled a knife from her belt, growling.

‘Don't you dare come any closer!'

‘ How…cute. The Kraferrin standing up for her friends even though she knows that she has no hope in defeating me. The Kraferr, the great protector, unconscious and unable to defend his loved ones. This would simply kill him to know that he could do nothing. The princess, so weak in her human form, powerless, incapable of protecting her friends. And the crystal demon who would do anything to protect the princess, but even he knows that he's no match for me.'

I reached a hand up my sleeve to draw my dagger but snarled in pain, the blade clattering to the ground as pain shot through my arm. Ilrune's arms grabbed me, pressing me to his chest in an attempt to protect me.

‘Leave here, Dementius,' Ilrune growled.

‘Come, come, Wingless, the Kraferrs are well known for their hospitality. ‘My dear Dominique, how trying this must be for you. The only unblooded demon in this room. I know that you asked your little friend on the bed to blood you, but he refused…Such a selfish thing for him to have done, wasn't it?' He took a step closer, holding out one hand to the Kraferrin. ‘I am willing to blood you, if you are willing to accept…'

‘No!' Dominique snarled, baring her teeth at the demon.

‘Such a gift as demonic blood could give you what you most desire.'

‘Shut up,' Dominique said quietly, her rage echoing through her voice.

‘Are you sure? No one from Shadow's clan will accept to blood you, and your little friend has already denied you. Why remain weak when you could be strong, strong enough to protect your loved ones?'

‘Shut up.'

‘Strong enough to bear a child?'

‘Shut up!' Dominique's claws were millimetres away from Teran's throat. They trembled slightly.

‘I have no qualms about giving you what you want.' Her hand shook, then folded into a fist and dropped back down to her side. She picked up the knife she had dropped, holding it tightly as if in reassurance.

‘Don't!' I shouted in warning. He mustn't blood her. He must not! It was against every protocol in the book! It was not something to be taken lightly. He would want something in return, that was almost certain, and you couldn't accept gifts from a snake like him!

‘Do it,' Dominique murmured. ‘Give me the blood.'

Teran smirked at me, defenceless, imprisoned in Ilrune's arms. He knew exactly how much I treasured my friends, how I wanted to please them, but I had never even considered what he was planning to do to Dominique. It was barbaric, crude and painful. Turning his gaze to Dominique, he rolled back his sleeve, using a claw to draw a neat gash down his forearm. At his prompting, the Kraferrin copied his gesture. I struggled against Ilrune's hold but, as a human, I had more chance of head butting my way through a brick wall than I had of breaking free, and he wasn't about to let me go running into danger. Curse this half-blood status! All I could do was watch in horror as the demon and the Kraferrin pressed their wounds together, demonic blood starting to flow into Dominique's veins. She collapsed to the ground in agony, clutching her arm. Teran wiped the blood from his own wound on his sleeve, looking down at the Kraferrin.

‘I will return when she has converted,' he vowed before vanishing. Ilrune let me go. I fell to my knees, using my cloak in attempt to stem the blood flow. The scarlet was turning dark. Black veins stood out around the wound, starting to travel up her arm. By the time they reached her heart, she would be in pure, burning agony. Already, her eyes were wide, staring at the
ceiling, her claws starting to gouge grooves into the floor. I chewed my lip, applying more pressure to the wound. There was nothing to do but wait for the conversion to finish.

‘Ilrune, try to wake Bart up. He's going to be pissed off enough without delaying things.' Ilrune did nothing, simply glaring at the Kraferrin. ‘Ilrune!' Still, he didn't more.

‘They're consorting with Teran, Shadow. They deserve everything they get. We should get back to Aspheri and get you to safety before Teran returns with no qualms about the law.'

I growled low in my throat. ‘You're such a pain!' I snarled, grabbing a scarf from the top of the dresser, binding it tightly around the wound. Casting a glare at my fiancé, I started shaking Bart's shoulder. Getting no response, I started to grow desperate. Tears began to prick the back of my eyes as I begged the Kraferr to wake up.

‘Oh, Goddess, Bart, please wake up! I need you to wake up! Dominique's in danger! Teran's given her demonic blood! Goddess, I don't know what to do! Please, Bart, please wake up!'

Something in my plea must have gotten through to the Kraferr's subconscious. His eyes snapped open as he sat bolt upright. He snarled at Ilrune and me, dropping down next to Dominique.

‘What the hell did you do to her?!'

‘I didn't do anything!' I pleaded with him to understand. ‘I couldn't do anything!'

‘That's just it, isn't it?' he growled. ‘You didn't do anything and now she's going to end up as a part-demon as well! She was the last pure Kraferrin! You've ruined everything!'

My tears began to run down my face. I couldn't have done anything to save her. There was nothing I could have done! I was only human. I had no strength, no magic, no way to hold a blade in order to fight. Bart had been unconscious at the time. How could he blame me? I couldn't have done anything to stop Teran. Nothing!

‘You don't get it, do you?' I screamed at the Kraferr. ‘I'm human! Human! I have nothing to fight with!' Dragging my sleeve across my eyes, turning on my heel and leaving the room, I closed the door behind me without waiting for an answer.

I sagged against the window, trying to regain some semblance of dignity and composure. I wiped my eyes again, sniffing hard in an attempt to stop crying.

‘Aw, has the little princess had an argument and come out here to cry?' asked a mocking voice. I didn't have to think very long to guess who owned it. And what was it with me being called the ‘little princess' by everyone? Okay, I was short for a demon, but that didn't mean anything! I rounded on Teran, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall, intending to yell at him. It didn't really turn out as I expected it to. In a single heartbeat, my back was against the wall, standing on my toes with Teran's hand at my throat. I scrabbled at his hand, trying to relieve the pressure on my windpipe, unable to draw breath, starting to become light-headed. Teran released his hold a slight degree. I gulped down air desperately.

‘Weak little human,' he crooned. ‘I'm not even close to being finished with you. I may not be able to challenge you for a while, but I can certainly make your life hell until I do.'

Ilrune burst out from the bedroom like an enraged bull. I half expected him to grow horns. Bart wasn't far behind him, a look of anger personified on his face. Teran let me go, turning to face the two Unborns.